There are lots of commonalities between a horse and an equestrian owing to the many likenesses in physiological makeup as well as traits and temperament between humans and horses. Among the numerous things humans have in common with their equine friends is the flu. As flu can simply spread into a contagion in groups of folks, equine flu can also simply cause chaos in a herd of horses. But don’t panic when a wave of influenza spreads in the ranks of your esteemed steeds, aside from missed horse riding sessions, no other extreme events should happen. Most horses recover without developing complications , and only a few ever die from the flu.

Temperatures of 101 to 106 degrees F are telling indicators of equine influenza. When the coughing comes along, you can be quite sure that you are basically dealing with horse flu. Obviously it’s common for the cough to come after the fever, and it’s generally dry, hacking cough initially. After a few days the coughing will sound moister, and will reduce in frequency, and then at last fade away after a few weeks. But do not depend on just these to self-diagnose your horses. Always seek expert, vet advice. You do not want to confuse something as innocent as influenza with viral arteritis or viral rhinopneumonitis. The vet can run blood tests and confirm what ailment your horses are having, and his findings of flu are more decisive than your most informed guesses.

The high temperature is bound to go down after a few days or so. Other equine influenza indications include weakness, stiffness, nasal discharge, absence of energy, and loss of appetite. When your horses have the flu they will not be up for horse riding, far less dressage training. Different symptoms persist anywhere from 2 to 7 days. Any longer would merit another vet check.

Equine flu spreads like human flu, through the air in the shape of very infectious material spewed out in each cough of a discomfited steed. So that you can think how fast flu will spread in a group of horses when one of them easily coughs out infectious viruses. And again, just like with human influenza, there is no exact remedy for equine flu. No medication can kill the viruses causing the illness. What can be done is to rest the ailed steeds in clean, well-ventilated stalls and that physically draining exercise is avoided. The equestrian has a major role to play in making certain her steeds go through the difficulty without effort.

Though symptoms generally vanish after a week, a stud or mare that had influenza can take as long as three weeks to a few months to get back to tip-top shape prepared for any amount of horse riding sessions and dressage training. Both younger and older horses are more at risk to equine influenza, and as such should be given due attention. Further bacterial infections and complications need to be pre-empted in these steeds too. Vaccine shots are available to provide assistance in protecting horses from the 2 kinds of flu, so ask your vet about them.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about stable rugs